10 Victoria Street Lewisham NSW 2049

I object to the proposed demolition of these historic buildings. They represent late 19th/early 20th century inner west commercial history. They should be retained and restored.

There should be a requirement to keep some of the frontage, tiling and glasswork as there is real heritage value that should be preserved in this building, which has been severely neglected by the owners. It should not be okay to neglect a building so badly just to make it easier to get a demolition order on a building. The buildings directly opposite are examples of keeping the heritage feel while still developing the property.

I understand the need to update these buildings but the facades at least should be preserved.
The community prides itself on the history of itself and this should be protected, not destroyed.

I object to the demolition of this historic building. The windows and tiles have important value to the story of this suburb and it is totally shortsighted to completely demolish the structure. Further, a total knock down and rebuild of the site would cause increased parking and traffic issues for the street. There is already a severe shortage of parking on the street and the amount of additional vehicles from tradespeople, equipment and materials would effectively close the street for large periods of the build.

I object to the demolition of the historical buildings. The buildings should be restored and upgraded to preserve the historical character.

I object to the demolition and believe the facade should be retained.

The extant historic materials including tiling and leadlight transom contribute to Lewisham’s small commercial historic streetscape.

As the facade is small and modest Council should consider the possibility of salvage and restoration.

Should retaining the facade impede development then the developer and Council should consider salvaging and reinstating the facade, including restoring the historic shopfronts, tiling and lead lighting following the development.
A good example in the Inner West where a historic facade has been salvaged and later reinstated is the former Georgiou’s confectionary warehouse building at 147 New Canterbury Rd, Lewisham. This brick facade was deconstructed to build the apartment building behind and later reinstated.

It is possible to create modern infill apartments on top of new ground floor commercial tenancies whilst salvaging and reinstating the historic facade.

I object to the demolition of this building. It seems convenient to let the building go to ruin and then submit a building permit. Too many of these old building are being demolished. If it needs to be built, the old facade must remain, it needs to match the rest of the buildings, it cannot look like a modern ugly building

Victoria Street is an important and charming Street and should not be made boring and anonymous for the convenience of developers. Indeed it should be realised that the heritage value in this street also translates into social and ,yes ,economic value. This street which is the heart of Lewisham has the potential to be a bustling hub of interesting cafes and shops if it is curated and protected from those who would destroy it's character as is happening to so many streets in the Inner West.

I object to the demolition of this building. Heritage needs to be preserved in Victoria Street and this building is part of the history of Lewisham. We are losing too much heritage and history to developers.The building has sadly not been maintained, no doubt hoping that this will lead to a quick knockdown.

I object to this application as it stands. The heritage facade should be preserved. This is a charming commercial part of the street and it is one of the reasons Lewisham is so beautiful. Removing would destroy the feel of the suburb and we would lose valuable history.

I object to the complete demolition of this building and a new build as it is not in keeping with the traditional facade of the streetscape. The beauty of Victoria St has been retained and enhanced with the preservation of the traditional facades with few exceptions. Where a new development/new build has been permitted to occur it stands out for all the wrong reasons and some of the charm has been lost. A shop in this building would be a welcome addition to the neighbourhood but the traditional facade along with the style of the building should kept in line with the architecture of the street particularly in this area where there are other traditional shop facades.

I would object to the complete demolition of this property. The front facade should be maintained so that it's in keeping with the local area and other houses on the street. The owner could easily keep the facade and work it into the redevelopment to the back of the house. I feel that demolition of this property and a new build is not in keeping with the architecture of the street. Also during the construction how will the builder manage the access to the footpath leading to the train station since the house is so close to it. That area is also used for buses if the trains are not running. What will happen in that case with possible construction traffic .

I also object to the destruction of the buildings. The heritage of the Lewisham area should be maintained through a planned development that maintains the streetscape.

I object to the development - that area around Lewisham station is already congested, particularly around peak hour due to commuters being dropped off and picked up, then cars trying to turn onto Railway Terrace. Adding more traffic due to a residential development would make the situation worse. That area is also completely parked out so the development would make the parking situation worse.

I also object to the style of the building which is completely out of sync with the street front in the area. I don't see why the old shop cant be incorporated into a design that is in line with the area.

I support this development. Victoria St has been dead for a very long time and clearly keeping things as they are isn’t working for it. We should welcome the opportunity to bring new people into the area - if this was repeated many times over on other nearby lots we’d have a lot more foot traffic and a better chance at a good precinct. I don’t find the architecture particularly remarkable, the building is in poor condition and there are plenty of other examples of similar throughout the inner west.

I object to this proposal. This building has such unusual architecture representing the history of the time. Losing these features would be a loss to the heritage of the area. The beautiful facade and gorgeous tiles at the front of the building must be retained. I really hope council insist the developer maintain the unique facade.

I think they should have to keep the front facade and build behind it to keep the history of the area in tact

I oppose the development and demolition of this building. The shop facade should be retained and restored retaining the leadlight windows and tiles. All developments should retain any existing heritage features and any new additions should be heritage in design to fit in with the surroundings. Victoria St is full of history and charm which must be preserved at all costs.

I also oppose the modern design and disproportionate, overshadowing bulk and size of the proposal. Any proposal should not be higher than the two storey heritage building at No. 8A so that it fits seamlessly into the street scape and does not negatively impact on the existing residences closely surrounding it.

As a significant lack of street parking already exists for residents and business owners, any future proposals should include adequate off street parking for each proposed residence and business. The PDA proposal includes only two off street parking spaces which will require losing four existing street parking spaces available in Jubilee Lane in order to gain access into the proposed off street parking areas.

Being a long term resident present when both sides of the top section of Victoria Street (from Railway Terrace down to the corner of Hobbs St) housed eleven various retail shops and service providers, I can say that Victoria Street was not a bustling thriving business street, in fact it was a quiet street with shops servicing only locals which meant respective shops were often empty and an abundance of street parking was always available. The creation of shopping centres, such as Leichhardt Market Town (now Leichhardt Market Place) and Ashfield Mall, were the beginning of the end for these street shops and services.

Realistically, Victoria St will never be in a position to generate enough foot traffic (more so since Lewisham light rail was introduced) to sustain successful businesses that offer food services directly to the public nor could it successfully attract people willing to drive to the street to enjoy such services as people would find difficulty obtaining street parking. Each new cafe that has opened since has failed due to the above issues.

The retail precinct around Lewisham Station is in a precarious state. It has the potential to be a valuable community focal point, as it has been in the past. Sadly, years of neglect by private landlords, local council and state governments mean that it is now at risk of becoming a bland residential wind-tunnel.

A masterplan is needed for Victoria Street at the station to preserve its amenity for the community. Providing parking for bikes, better lighting, garden beds, addressing through traffic and rat-running (eg. by making the street ‘no entry’ or closing-off completely, addressing tagging/graffiti (particularly along the station wall which is perfectly situated for mural art) - would all make it conducive to outdoor dining and more engaged retail. It would not take much.

Critically, more needs to be done to require owners to properly maintain their properties - rather than allowing them to fall into disrepair in order to have them condemned. Tenancies at ground level need to be well thought-through and pragmatically considered to avoid empty shopfronts, storage or office spaces that do not contribute to community amenity. IWC should play a role in ensuring that outcome for all new DAs.

I have no objection to increasing residential density in principle - but it needs to be done sensitively to preserve the aesthetic of the area and its heritage, and to support a sustainable community precinct. IWC and the Community get one shot at this, and if it gets it wrong, then the High Street will be lost forever.

In terms of the immediate DA at hand, the nod to Lewisham’ s Whipple-truss bridge seems genuine and well-considered. The design of the building is modern and bold - with the proposed lighting bringing an interesting feature to the area for commuters walking past in the evenings. Execution however is vital. There is a serious risk that this ends up looking like a cheap box that dominates Victoria Street if materials are not well thought through or a dodgy builder is used. The more modern structure should not be at the expense of the existing façade, as the two can and should co-exist, blending old with the new. The applicants should be required to maintain the façade of the original building to keep it in line with the current street level shop fronts. The more modern structure could be set further back to reduce concerns around scale. There is a risk here that the structure ‘as is’ will dominate the beautiful shop-front façades between 2-8 Victoria Street.

The North Elevation is particularly concerning as it will be the most visible from Victoria Street as people walk towards Lewisham Station. The proposal shows a bland wall with no visual interest that appears like a concrete Telecom building from the 70s or 80s; it is completely out of step with the well-maintained Victorian/Federation homes and trees in the pocket. It is too stark, offers nothing and takes away far too much. One suggestion is that it would be an ideal place for a mural or public art, similar to that at 11 Victoria Street. Ultimately though, the North Elevation needs to go back to the drawing board.